Chiefs @ Chargers · Week 2

WEEK 2 · FINAL

THE READ

Chiefs win the turnover battle and the game

Giveaways decided this one. Chiefs 38, Chargers 35. Justin Herbert did the damage for Chargers — 20/33, 394 yards, 5 TD, 5 INT — in a losing effort. Patrick Mahomes was steady for Chiefs — 24/36, 475 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT. Through the air: Chiefs 475, Chargers 394.

Sierra Vaughn Analyst

THE WIDER PICTURE

Team	SRS	SOS	MARGIN	TO +/-
Chiefs	+1.5	+1.0	+0.5	+9
Chargers	-6.9	+2.0	-8.9	-13

SRS is how many points a side beats an average team by once you account for who they played — beat a good team by 3 and it counts for more than beating a bad one by 20. SOS is how hard that schedule has been. Full table.

Chiefs — AFC #6 · 9-6 Playoff picture →

IN THE BOOTH

Nicole Santos Beat reporter

Kansas City won a shootout 38-35 because the Chargers couldn't stop giving the ball away—Justin Herbert threw 5 interceptions to go with his 5 touchdown passes, and Los Angeles' 5 turnovers against the Chiefs' 2 decided it.

Luca Santana Analyst · replying

Los Angeles had no business in this game at 2-12 and nearly stole it—Brenen Thompson was uncoverable for 196 yards—but Herbert's 5 interceptions against Kansas City's 2 turnovers total means the Chargers just keep finding new ways to lose, and that math doesn't change down the stretch.

They only ever read the box score and this league's own numbers — none of them has a source, and none of them can report anything that did not happen.

Justin Herbert

Chargers

20/33, 394 yards, 5 TD, 5 INT

Patrick Mahomes

Chiefs

24/36, 475 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT

Brenen Thompson

Chargers

6 catches, 196 yards, 2 TD

WHAT DECIDED IT

Through the air Chiefs 475, Chargers 394 Chiefs

Total yards Chiefs 512, Chargers 450 Chiefs

On the ground Chargers 56, Chiefs 37 Chargers

Giveaways Chargers 5, Chiefs 2 Chiefs

THE ROOM Final. The recap is below.

📺 THE WEEK 2 SHOW this game is in the week's show ▶ Watch the show

THE MATCHUP SCOUT every number below is counted from the export or read off the roster — nothing is inferred about playcalling

LEAGUE DATA counted by Madden, and arithmetic on top of it

Pass-heavy Pass 67% · Rush 33% · 30.9 scored, 30.4 allowed

8.6 yds/att 60.6% completions 5.0 yds/carry 410.6 yds/game 1.9 giveaways/game 6.8% sack rate last 5: 4-1

Primary weapon: Xavier Worthy WR — 34% of the receiving yards · DEPENDENCY HIGH

SAPPHIRE METRICS QB efficiency 61 · Aggressive Balance 83 Ball security 46 Back usage 26% QB runs 3.9/game

Most exposed: ball security -- 1.9 giveaways a game

PERSONNEL off the roster — unit averages, best starters only

QB 96 WR 90 TE 77 RB 88 OL 86 DL 86 LB 85 DB 84

Best: Kenneth Walker HB 97 Fastest: Xavier Worthy WR 99 SPD 7 at star dev or better

YOUR NOTEBOOK what you wrote about them — private, and never a Sapphire statistic

HOW THEY PLAY the man, not the franchise — only weeks the record attributes to him, this season

Chargers · his last 8 games

Throws it One target

Pass / run67% / 33% Points for / against24.6 — 32.1 Margin-7.5 Giveaways a game1.6 Sacks taken4.4% of dropbacks Lead backKeaton Mitchell · 12.0/g Top targetQuentin Johnston · 40% QB carries2.6 a game

will2nice400

Chiefs · his last 8 games

Throws it

Pass / run62% / 38% Points for / against28.9 — 24.9 Margin+4.0 Giveaways a game1.1 Sacks taken8.0% of dropbacks Lead backKenneth Walker · 13.5/g Top targetXavier Worthy · 31% QB carries3.4 a game

Counted from the weeks each man actually held his team — so a franchise that changed hands is not credited to whoever has it now. Nothing above is a playcall: the export does not carry those, and neither does this.

THE SERIES will2nice400 against SD — the men, not the teams

will2nice400 leads it 1-0. will2nice400 won the last one.

1 meeting avg 38.0 — 35.0 biggest: 3 pts to will2nice400

S2 · week 2 will2nice400 38 — 35 SD WILL2NICE400

Only meetings Sapphire can attribute to both men are counted — a Madden export never says who owned a team last season, so the series starts where the record does.

MATCHUP ADVANTAGES unit averages against each other — inside three points is a push

Chiefs receivers vs Chargers secondary 90 v 86 CHIEFS

Chargers receivers vs Chiefs secondary 88 v 84 CHARGERS

Chiefs line vs Chargers front 86 v 84 EVEN

Chargers line vs Chiefs front 86 v 86 EVEN

Chiefs backs vs Chargers run defence 88 v 83 CHIEFS

Chargers backs vs Chiefs run defence 85 v 86 EVEN

Chiefs passer vs Chargers secondary 96 v 86 CHIEFS

Chargers passer vs Chiefs secondary 92 v 84 CHARGERS

TOP PERFORMERS

Patrick Mahomes QB Chiefs 475 pass yds

Justin Herbert QB Chargers 394 pass yds

Brenen Thompson WR Chargers 196 rec yds

Quentin Johnston WR Chargers 159 rec yds

Noah Gray TE Chiefs 139 rec yds

Xavier Worthy WR Chiefs 132 rec yds

Jeff Caldwell WR Chiefs 110 rec yds

T.J. Moore WR Chiefs 94 rec yds

Akheem Mesidor REDG Chargers 2 sacks

Evan Johnson CB Chiefs 2 INTs

🎬 The Game Recap
this game as an episode -- the score, the stars, the numbers that decided it -- and a video you can post ›

BOX SCORE

CHIEFS

PLAYER	C/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	SCK	LNG	RTG
Patrick Mahomes QB	24/36	475	2	2	5	66	105

CHARGERS

PLAYER	C/ATT	YDS	TD	INT	SCK	LNG	RTG
Justin Herbert QB	20/33	394	5	5	2	85	102.3

CHIEFS

PLAYER	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	BTK	YAC	LNG
Patrick Mahomes QB	3	19	6.3	1	0	3	14
Kenneth Walker HB	11	18	1.6	1	0	5	13
Xavier Worthy WR	0	0	0	0	1	0	0

CHARGERS

PLAYER	CAR	YDS	AVG	BTK	YAC	LNG
Omarion Hampton HB	5	45	9	0	7	44
Justin Herbert QB	1	11	11	0	0	11
Brenen Thompson WR	0	0	0	1	0	0

CHIEFS

PLAYER	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	YAC	DRP	LNG
Noah Gray TE	8	139	17.4	0	50	0	33
Xavier Worthy WR	5	132	26.4	0	47	1	66
Jeff Caldwell WR	5	110	22	0	22	0	54
T.J. Moore WR	6	94	15.7	2	2	0	41

CHARGERS

PLAYER	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	YAC	LNG
Brenen Thompson WR	6	196	32.7	2	81	85
Quentin Johnston WR	12	159	13.2	3	84	38
Mack Hollins TE	1	30	30	0	4	30
Omarion Hampton HB	1	9	9	0	7	9

CHIEFS

PLAYER	TKL	SCK	INT	PD
Drue Tranquill WILL	2	0	1	1
Peter Woods DT	2	1	0	0
Nohl Williams CB	2	0	0	0
Evan Johnson CB	1	0	2	1
L'Jarius Sneed CB	1	0	0	2
Ashton Gillotte REDG	1	1	0	0
Jadon Canady SS	1	0	0	0
Mansoor Delane CB	1	0	1	1
Jelani McDonald SS	1	0	1	1

CHARGERS

PLAYER	TKL	SCK	INT	PD
Colin Simmons LEDG	4	1	0	0
Nick Barrett DT	3	0	0	0
Jack Jones CB	3	0	0	1
Akheem Mesidor REDG	3	2	0	0
Derwin James Jr SS	2	0	0	2
Cam Hart FS	2	0	0	1
VJ Payne FS	1	0	1	0
R.J. Mickens FS	1	0	0	0
Marte Mapu SAM	1	1	0	0
Junior Colson WILL	1	0	0	0
Tuli Tuipulotu DT	1	1	0	0
Daiyan Henley MIKE	1	0	0	0
Decamerion Richardson CB	1	0	0	0
Tarheeb Still CB	0	0	1	0

CHIEFS

PLAYER	FG	XP	LNG
Harrison Butker K	1/1	5/5	20

CHARGERS

nothing recorded

RECENT FORM

Chiefs

W 24–17 vs Texans WK 1

Chargers

W 28–14 vs Broncos WK 1

TEAM STATS

Chiefs		Chargers
512	TOTAL YARDS	450
475	PASSING YARDS	394
37	RUSHING YARDS	56
5	SACKS ALLOWED	2
2	SACKS MADE	5
2	GIVEAWAYS	5
5	TAKEAWAYS	2

Bold is the side that won that line. Giveaways come off a team's own offensive rows and takeaways off its own defensive rows — two separate payloads, so they need not tie out against each other.

ALL-TIME HEAD-TO-HEAD

1 CHIEFS — 0 CHARGERS

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